Style: Greytones / Full color on greytones. Genre: Fantasy. Time
Span: Ancient history. Nudity: Half naked voluptuous girl.Keywords: After destruction. Primitivity. Saga. Ritual. Abandon. Family. Beasts.
Ghost. Monster. Abyss.Story Origin: Robert E. Howard short story, "The
Valley of the Worm". Synopsis: An epic story of a post-holocaust world of Bloodstar
and tribe. He wants to live peaceful with a family, but he must survive barbaric armies, beasts,
sable tooth tiger, gigantic snake monster and finally the madness and sorcery of an
unspeakable peril
known
as the
King
of the
Northern
Abyss.Comment: B&W version of Corben's saga of Bloodstar
by Robert E. Howard is one of his best works; no matter comic
has a great deal of text! Story losts quite
much of touch in color format.Colors: Richard Corben revealed
in Heavy Metal interview that
the story was colored by his overlays technique, but he did not do it by
himself; who did the coloring, there was no mention. Later I contacted
to Mr. Corben and asked about it. He replied that those times he used
several assistants and as far as he remembers it was Herb & Diana Arnold,
but he's
not in contact with them anymore and cannot verify that information.Versions, & : Comic
story art is as equal as possible, though one is in B&W and the other
in color. has
divided into chapters; every chapter starts with two extra explanation
pages (text on black background).
Entire
story,
in
both
reprints, is
rewritten by
John Pocsik.Comparing the original story and comic story adaptation (thanks Plogg): The
plot is basically the same as Howard's original story, which took place not in the future,
but long ago, "not merely centuries and milleniums, but epochs
and dim ages unguessed by the wildest philosopher." It was (prob.) Richard
Corben's idea to set the story far
in the future, long after disaster destroyed the earth (that is a characteristic for
Richard Corben). The main difference between "Bloodstar" and "The
Valley of the Worm" is that the original story isn't narrated by Grom, but by
James Allison (who recurs in a few of Howard's short stories), a modern day man who is
able to recall
his earlier incarnations (if you believe in reincarnation). Richard
Corben says it was Gil Kane who
changed the character's name from Niord to Bloodstar. Also, there is no Helva or Loknar
in the original, and the battle with the tiger almost killed Niord: "I
killed saber-tooth in a battle that would make a saga in itself, and for months afterward
I
lay semi-delirious with ghastly wounds that made the toughest warriors shake their heads." In
the end, Niord dies in the same manner that Bloodstar. (Incidentally, the name of
Bloodstar's rival, "Loknar", was used again as the name of the powerful scepter
in "Neverwhere", though there it was
spelled "Locnar".)Extra (thanks Stu and Plogg):
R. E. Howad's original short story "The Valley of the Worm" appeared for the
first
time
in Weird
Tales (Feb. 1934 issue). It was republished in 1968
in novel form in R.E. Howard's "Wolfshead" (Lancer), and in an earlier
paperback collection of
stories
from Weird Tales called "Skull-Face
and others" (Arkham House, 1946), and "Worlds of Weird" (Pyramid,
1965).
In
Jan.
1972
Marvel
Comics
released Conan
the
Barbarian
#13.
The comic story "Web of the Spider-God" was plotted (created) by John Jakes.
It was adapted by Roy Thomas, writer, and Barry (Windsor-)Smith, artist. From this start,
John
Jakes then did another "Conan the Barbarian" plot, one "Kull" and
a "Brak" tale.
Marvel
then started adapting John Jake's "Brak the Barbarian" in it's Savage
Tales. Because of this Savage Tales comics connection he must have meet Gil Kane
and Richard
Corben. John Jakes went on to write the Kent Family Chronicles, "North
and South", "Love and War" and "Homeland". In
April 1973 Marvel Comics released Supernatural Thrillers #3. It was an adaptation
of R.E. Howard's "The
Valley of the Worm" produced in comic form. It was adapted by Roy Thomas
and
Gerry Conway, writers, and Gil Kane, artist.
In 1976
Morning Star Press edition of Bloodstar was released. It was also an adaptation
of the same R.E. Howard's story.
The author John Jakes wrote a lot of additional material fleshen out the story,
but Richard Corben did a final written version and all
the breakdowns and designed the characters and practically wrote
it from those two other pieces (the R. E. Howard's original and Jake's). The 1979 print
was rewritten by John Pocsik. The tittle pages were added in the same print.
The one of the first mentions of the (upcoming) Richard Corben's comic
story adaptation - then under workname "King
of the Northern Abyss" (!) - was in Robert
E. Howard: Lone Star Fictioneer
I, 3 (Fall, 1975) and Mediascene
#16 (Dec. 1975).